


Iron Aura

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23243779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: A LOT of rock-related information, but what else did Ash expect when he joined Steven in exploring a cave?
Relationships: Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Satoshi no Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Tsuwabuki Daigo | Steven Stone
Comments: 11
Kudos: 132





	Iron Aura

“...Are you gonna accompany me to the rest of the regions as well?” Ash flatly said, greeting Steven with a wave. Pikachu also chirped a greeting, nodding to Steven.

“I’m normally here to mine for emeralds, what are  _ you  _ doing here?” 

Ash only shrugged. “Can I join?” 

“In exploring the cave?”

“Yeah sure, why not? It’s not like we’ve anything else to do.”

Steven slowly nodded, heading further into the cave while Ash followed. Ash and Pikachu excitedly pointed out every little shiny rock and structure while Steven stayed silent. 

It was only when Ash blankly stared off into the distance did Steven finally speak up, “Anything wrong?”

Ash blinked, shaking his head with a nod. “Oh, ‘course not! Whoa, look at the pokemon over there!” Steven deadpanned when Ash stared off once more. Pokemon? He didn’t see any. He was more focused on charting their paths and keeping an eye out for treasures.

“Excuse me-”

“Something’s coming.” Pikachu narrowed his eyes, ears twitching.

Steven blinked when a blur passed by. “Wh-  _ How _ did you know that?”

“I don’t know, I just  _ know _ .” Ash chuckled, tickling Pikachu’s cheek. “I sometimes hear those pokemon as well.” What. Steven stayed silent, no idea how to respond. “Now that I think about it, it’s probably because of my aura.”

“Aura, huh? Are you an aura user?”

“Nah, I’m not like Riley.” 

“Oh. You’ve met. I’m surprised he didn’t train you.” Pikachu froze, ears perking up.

Ash stiffened, pausing for a moment. “We want to focus on our goal of becoming a pokemon master first!” They both froze when a blur zoomed by them. Steven had a knowing look in his eyes. 

“It’s sure working out for you.” Steven had a sparkle in his eyes. “You have a steel type mythical pokemon now!” Ash amusedly raised an eyebrow as Steven cleared his throat. “I've met a lot of different trainers so far, but ever since our paths first crossed in Granite Cave in Dewford, I had this feeling that you’re one of a kind. I thought that you would eventually become a champion too. And you know, my predictions usually come true. Hm… where will you go from here?” Ash almost tripped on a rock while staring at Steven, causing him to chuckle. “Fufufu, even I couldn't tell you that.” Pikachu tilted his head, chirping.

A blue blur twirled around the two of them before disappearing once more. Ash chuckled, staring off into the distance with Pikachu. “Looks like someone’s been listening to our conversation still.” A chirp reached them, and Steven side-eyed Ash.

“Do you have a favorite pokemon?”

“Nope! I love all pokemon!” Pikachu grinned, hopping on and down on Ash’s shoulder.

“...Should have guessed. You could probably guess what my favorite pokemon is,” Steven jokingly said, shoulders slumping. Ash sweatdropped when Steven began ranting, “That particular texture! The cool and glowing bodies! Such uniquenesses are only for steel-type pokemon! When it comes to the solitariness and nobleness you sense through the rugged body, which is almost rebuffing when you hug, nothing comes close to the Beldum evolutionary line, I must say... In short, my Metagross is truly strong and cool! ... Oh, it seems that I got carried away.” 

Ash’s eyes flashed blue with familiarity, glancing down at an amused Pikachu. “I know  _ exactly _ what you’re saying.” A wild Beldum flew down to them, curiously staring at Steven. A few more Beldums zoomed past them, happily chirping. “Whoa…”

Steven nudged at Ash, stopping to stare up at the swarm of Beldums. “Did I convince you though?”

Laughing, Ash incredulously shook his head. “You… you’re an interesting person.” Pikachu stifled a snicker.

Steven’s eyes twinkled. “You too, Ash. Humor me for a second, do rocks have aura?” Ash raised an eyebrow. “Aura’s the essence of all living things, right? I know Riley could sense fossils, but  _ rocks _ ?”

Ash put his hands out as Pikachu tilted his head, cooing curiously. “I’m pretty sure so?” 

Steven practically skipped in front of him. “So I wonder, what do you naturally gravitate to? Your birthstone? Your favorite stone? Something else?”

Eyes flickering blue for a moment, Ash chuckled. “Favorite stone? You have a- Why am I not surprised.” Pikachu’s ears twitched when a Beldum hovered near him before fleeing. Ash curiously stared in one direction.

“Aw come on, you can’t blame me! mega stones and keystones are definitely one of my top five favorite stones in existence! Sure, rocks are amazing, but not much, if anything, compares to being in sync with your favorite pokemon!” Steven had stars in his eyes. “But it’s not like I haven’t thought about it! I know plenty about rocks!” 

Ash peeked into one of the cave tunnels before glancing at Pikachu. “No doubt. Want to share a bit to pass the time?” He glanced upwards for a moment before marching forward.

Steven blinked, walking after Ash. “Don’t mind if I do!” He took a deep breath, grinning. “Ok, rocks! Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, all that good stuff. Then again rocks like tektites come from outer space! There are so many interesting rocks out there in so many different colors and processes and configurations! There are  _ pink  _ rhyolites- oh speaking of color, we should totally visit Vinicunca or Zhangye together sometime. Oh, have I talked about concretions yet?”

Ash rolled his eyes. “No, you have not.” He stroked Pikachu’s back, scanning the cave walls.

“There are so many concretion shapes! Septarian concretions have actual cracks in them, like lightning! Speaking of lightning, have you ever seen a fulgurite? You should definitely see one, I have one back-” Steven cut himself off, flushing in embarrassment. “Well, you don’t have to, but they’re still interesting.”

“It does sound interesting!”

Steven blinked. “Oh. Look, I know I talk too much, you’re welcome to stop me at any time,” he joked, but Ash could feel his discomfort. He thought he heard a hiss, but it stopped when he and Pikachu glanced upwards.

“I hear you.” They walked in silence for a moment. “Any other rock terms I should know about?”

“...Puddingstone. Look, I can talk about minerals if rocks are too much of a bore.” Ash raised an eyebrow, eyes sorrowful as Steven awkwardly laughed. “Or I can shut up. You might think of me as just a rock maniac-”

“You clearly enjoy this though! I’m not gonna tell you to stop with something that makes you happy!” A soft coo reached them, and Pikachu’s ears twitched.

“Ok so, minerals! Gems and all that awesome- Yeah, all that. What’s the first gem you can think of?”

“Uh, diamond?”

“A native mineral! Then again, there are also synthetic and imitation diamonds.” Steven placed his hands behind him, humming thoughtfully. “Did you know diamonds come in all different colors? Red, orange, yellow from nitrogen, green from radiation, blue from boron, even purple, pink, brown, and carbonado, black diamonds!” 

“I did not know that!” Ash and Pikachu both excitedly exclaimed, pumping their fists up and down.

Steven relaxed, sporting a small smile. “Then did you know that  _ ice  _ formed naturally is  _ also  _ a mineral?” Ash gasped, making Steven chuckle. “Just so you know, my favorite color is glacier ice blue! And speaking of water, hydrated minerals are a thing. Botryoidal goethite! Oh, and speaking of botryoidal, smithsonite also comes in that form! Smithsonite is a carbonate mineral, like azurite, cerussite, and rhodochrosite!”

“Azurite? Is that like a sapphire?”

Steven chuckled. “Well, they’re both blue? Sapphire is an oxide, like brookite and cuprite, not a carbonate.” His eyes gleamed. “The largest star sapphire currently is The Star of Adam!”

“Star sapphire?” Pikachu’s ears also raised in confusion.

“Yeah, it displays asterism!”

“Aster-”

“When you cut it en cabochon, it shows a star when reflecting or refracting light! It’s epiasterism for most gems, but diasterism for rose quartzes!” Ash and Pikachu both blankly stared at Steven. “Oh, uh, sorry for interrupting...”

“You’re too smart for us.”

Steven froze, stifling a surprised laugh. “Want me to stick to broad categories and colors?”

“Whatever you want!” Pikachu also waved in agreement.

Eyes turning fond, Steven nodded. “Halides and mineral salts, basically metals and halogens. Blue John is a form of fluorite with bands of purple and yellow. Diaboleite is blue, halite, or rock salt, is normally white or clear, but can be intruded with all different colors. Sylvite too with red and yellow!”

“Does that have anything to do with Sylveon?” Ash joked, tickling Pikachu’s cheeks.

Steven shrugged with a smile before snapping his finger. “Oh, that reminds me! Calcite is fluorescent, and it sometimes glows pink under UV light!”

“Fluorescent?”

“Yeah! I have a rock where hardystonite, willemite, and clinohedrite are grown together, and it glows blue, green, and orange respectively!” A blue blur lazily flew over them. Steven deadpanned before determinedly ranting, “Anyways, sulfate minerals! Brochantite and chalcanthite and cyanotrichite- Oh yeah, you’ve got arsenate minerals like clinoclase, erythrite or red cobalt, and mimetite! There are also phosphate minerals like pyromorphite and vivianite and variscite and wavellite, and oh! Beryl! I could go on all day! Heliodor and Bixbite, oh, and Emerald! Trapiche emerald in particular! Not asterism, but similar in pattern! Silicates include minerals like hemimorphite, tanzanite, kyanite, uvarovite, astrophyllite, quartzes like tugtupite, labradorite, and moonstone! Another group is inosilicates- Oh, did you know jadeite comes in green, lavender,  _ and yellow _ ?”

Ash and Pikachu both sweatdropped. “Nope!”

“That’s alright, moving onto metal ores! First thing, sulfides! Arsenic is a metalloid, provided through realgar, orpiment, and arsenopyrite. Galena is a lead ore and source of silver. Speaking of silver, varak is a thing. Covellite for copper though bornite and chalcopyrite, both peacock ores, by the way, are more common, sphalerite for zinc, proustite is the ruby silver ore, bauxite for aluminum.”

“I can see you’re well versed in metal ores.”

“Ooooh mineraloids! Those are organic minerals!” Steven listed on his fingers, “Like pearls and jet and copal and vegetable ivory- Oh oh!” Ash couldn’t help but smile when Steven excitedly held his hands out. “Opal! Made of silica but classified as a mineraloid! You’ve got your common opal, but there are also precious opals with their goniochromism, er… iridescence! There're so many different opals- Well there’s plenty of different types of minerals for all the others, but really! Boulder opal, rose opal, fire opal, black opal, chocolate opal! Gilson opal! Opal pineapple!” Steven grinned when Ash patiently hummed in curiosity before staring up into the air, eyes sparkling while nodding. “Amber is also a mineraloid. There are blue amber stones out there by the way. Speaking of amber, I’m actually curious…”

Ash and Pikachu tilted their heads in unison. “Yeah?” Pikachu scampered to Ash’s other shoulder, sniffing the air.

“Roark told me he found a Sunkern's leaf fossil when he was young.” Ash nodded in agreement. “I wonder if you can sense things like leaf stones and other evolutionary rocks? I mean, you can, but does it feel different than ‘normal’ rocks?”

Right after Ash’s eyes glowed blue for a moment, he stopped walking. Pikachu tilted his head when a Beldum flew next to them with a challenging chirp. “...Me?” Beldum nodded, tackling Pikachu onto the ground. Pikachu hissed at Beldum before glancing at Ash, narrowing his eyes at Steven when he hid a grin.

“This little guy’s been following us from the very start,” Steven noted, tapping his cheek and tilting his head. “Jee, I  _ wonder _ why?”

Ash laughed when Steven smirked at him, pointing to Beldum. “We accept your challenge!” Pikachu nodded, planting his paws into the sand and grinning at Beldum. Beldum immediately zoomed around Pikachu, whose ears perked up. Ash ordered, “Electroweb!” Pikachu put an Electroweb around himself, and Beldum shot straight up, chirping angrily. 

Chuckling, Pikachu teased Beldum by sticking out his tongue. Beldum hissed, flying directly at Pikachu. “Quick Attack!” Pikachu rolled his eyes as if it was obvious, darting off in a white blur. Beldum chased Pikachu around in a game of cat and mouse, Ash and Steven exchanging amused glances.

“Pikachu, give it an Iron Tail!” Ash yelled. Pikachu chirped in agreement, screeching to a stop and flipping above Beldum, countering its Take Down. Beldum shook itself off, tackling Pikachu with Take Down and flinging him high into the air. “Huh, resilient little guy,” Ash noted, grinning. “Pikachu! You know what to do!”

Beldum chirped in confusion, eye widening when Pikachu flung an Electroweb onto it, pinning it to the sandy ground. Pikachu had a dangerous look in his eyes as he shot a Thunderbolt at Beldum.

After gracefully landing next to Beldum, Pikachu startled when Beldum flew towards Steven instead. Ash slid between Steven and Beldum, arms out and eyes narrowing. “It’s alright, Ash.” Steven stepped next to Ash, reaching forward and patting Beldum on the head. “Have you finally made up your mind?”

Beldum stared between Steven and Ash. Pikachu scampered over, running up to Ash’s shoulder and nuzzling his cheek. Beldum flew in front of Ash, hovering when Ash instinctively healed it with his aura. “So? Wanna join my family?” Pikachu excitedly waved.

Chirping happily, Beldum nodded. Ash held a pokeball in front of him. Beldum tapped the button with the edge of its body. The pokeball didn’t even shake.

“Congratulations,” Steven said, placing his hands together as if clapping. “I knew you could do it.”

Ash and Pikachu grinned at Beldum’s pokeball. “We caught... a Beldum!” After letting his new pokemon out, Ash glanced over at Steven. “And thank you!”

“Your caring for it will make me very happy.”

Beldum chirped, flying around Ash and Pikachu. “Of course we’ll take care of it.” Ash chuckled when Beldum nuzzled against him, stroking it. “I mean this in the nicest way, but I can tell you’re gonna be a real weirdo, Beldum.” Beldum giggled when Pikachu hopped onto it, both of them soaring through the air. 

Steven joked, “Is that how you feel about me? Literally?” Ash sported an amused expression when Steven continued, “How steel types are apathetic, cold, you know, dry. Ironically.”

Ash giggled, eyes flashing blue. “Nah, more like disciplined and sturdy. Especially that ‘rock’ side of you. Then again, you don’t need my aura sense to know you’re a big nerd.” Steven stifled a laugh, nodding. Ash tapped his chin, unconsciously walking further down the tunnel. “And about your question from earlier, I think so.” Beldum and Pikachu laughed as they zoomed above Ash’s head.

“...Which question again?” Steven asked, blankly staring at Ash. “And is it me, or is it getting hotter in here?” Beldum tilted its head, hovering near Ash so Pikachu could hop onto Ash’s head.

“I’m taking you to a volcano. Just kidding, just kidding, I mean, I don’t know for  _ sure _ , but-” Ash shrugged, exchanging grins with Steven. “Anyways, I think things like keystones, mega stones, even evolutionary stones, do contain more aura than regular rocks! When pokemon evolve, they get a massive power and aura boost, so maybe instead of drawing it from nature, some of them need that boost to upgrade their form?” Pikachu side-eyed Ash, raising an ear. Ash only chuckled in return.

Steven glances at Beldum, who tilted its body in curiosity. “Well, whenever you need that boost, you’re always welcome to come find me.”

“...Thank you! I-” Ash and Pikachu both stared up at the room they stepped foot in. Little clumps of furball like crystals clung to the walls while tall clear crystals towered before them. “Whoa!”

Steven stared around the room, jaw-dropped. “Are those desert roses?” Beldum zoomed around the room, almost dancing in the air.

“I don’t know, but they look so cool!” Ash exclaimed, eyes glowing blue. Beldum and Pikachu both curiously chirped when the crystals glowed blue as well. The whole room, being covered with the same crystal, glittered like sunshine on the ocean.

Glancing back at Ash and Pikachu, Steven couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> To whoever is a Steven Universe fan, hello! I’m SO NOT ready for next Friday.  
> Also, the desert roses room was based on the Cave of the Crystals!


End file.
